August 26, 2009

UMM Scribing Tool from Unique
Master Models-USA

I purchased the JLC saw a few years ago
after seeing it at the Atlanta IPMS Nationals. At first I didnít see
anything but a razor sharp instrument that would take my finger off, and
I ribbed my friends who had bought it that it was a waste of money. Of
course, once I bought one, I was forced to admit I was WAY WRONG! The
little saw turned out to be one of my favorite and most used tools! Even
after I broke a blade I found use for the broken off bits of blade by
chucking them into an xacto knife. I was sold on Johnís tools.

So, when we got to Nationals this year in
Columbus, his booth was on the upper list of booths to hit. I wasnít
going to be wrong again! I wanted a UMM-USA scriber!! I soon found the
booth and the usual friendly John Vojtech. They had a scriber and their
riveter tools lying out with some kit parts to try them on, so I wasted
no time in picking up and playing with the scriber! I pulled the
scriber, I pushed it, I laid it flat like a knife, I scraped with it, I
drilled rivet holes with it, and with every line I made I knew this tool
would be one Iíd use on every part to clean up seam lines. It almost
replaces the xacto knife in the uses I can see me using it in. Made from
hardened tool steel itís sure to last a lifetime with few to no
sharpenings over that lifetime. The packaging shows several shots of
suggested uses for the tool, but Iím sure there will end up being more.

Upon getting home and doing some testing on
resin I can report that this tool is resin friendly. It takes a little
more muscle to pull it through it, but it makes beautiful curly cues of
resin as perfect as if it were scribing styrene. Thatís the secret to
this tool, unlike virtually all of the other scribers sold, this one
actually removes the material as it scribes and leaves you with a clean,
ready to paint panel line. The harder you push down, the wider the line
it makes. Going around curves is not difficult and made easier by the
fact that itís so sharp that usually only one pull across the surface is
necessary. The hard part will be holding the ruler, not the scriber!

So Peacekeepers, if you donít have this
tool, consider it vital and add it to your tool kit IMMEDIATELY!
Chancellorís orders! In fact, buy all of his tools; theyíre all the best
of their kind youíll ever use.